


A Card and a Lollipop

by QueenCarol



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:20:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23956792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenCarol/pseuds/QueenCarol
Summary: Ezekiel had worked on her Valentine’s card all night.  Every little detail had to be perfect.  He’d even made sure to write in a font that was elegant but still easy to read.He’s going to declare his love to the prettiest girl in his high school; his best friend, Carol.Warnings: this work includes the topic of racism.
Relationships: Ezekiel/Carol Peletier
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	A Card and a Lollipop

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer:
> 
> Carol Peletier, Sophia Peletier, King Ezekiel, Henry, Jerry, Shiva, and any other recognizable character or plot of The Walking Dead belong to AMC Network and Skybound Entertainment, Image Comics and Robert Kirkman.
> 
> In no way is the author claiming ownage of any of the characters nor is there any economical/monetary gain at any time. The author is extremely respectful of the original creators and is willing to take down this work of fiction if requested.
> 
> No copyright infringement intended.
> 
> Original characters are property of the author.
> 
> Note: This story touches upon a very real issue that still permeates our current society; racism. For centuries, racism has been a cancer in society that has shaped the life of many generations as well as claimed hundreds of innocent lives. My intent by including it in the work of fiction is never to romanticize racism, but instead to accurately portray a moment in US history as well as the challenges and struggles that Carol and Ezekiel would have experienced as a bi-racial couple in our society. I must warn that strong language, mentions of violence, and topics such as segregation and disenfranchisement may be touched upon in this story. I stand by my brothers and sisters in the fight to eradicate racism and pledge to learn from its painful history. I urge my readers to do everything they can to learn how to identify racism in all of its forms and make proper changes so that we can truly prevent our history from painfully repeating itself.

He’d worked on her Valentine’s card all night. Every little detail had to be perfect; from the feel of the paper to the color to the way the heart came up when the card was opened. He’d even made sure to write in a font that was elegant but still easy to read. When he was done, he placed the card on his desk, smoothed his hands over it, and let out a content sigh.

The card had to be perfect because he was going to use it to ask his best friend to be his girl.

He’d met Carol at the beginning of junior high when the school had finally been integrated. At first, he had tried to keep to himself; he didn’t want to appear overconfident or too shy for either end of the spectrum seemed to cause the worst bullying by the white kids. Soon he realized that no matter what he did, people weren’t happy by his presence simply because of his darker skin. The bullies and racist had eventually found him and though the worst had been a badly placed punch decorated by the angriest of expressions, he had still found himself pressed against the side of the building, eyes wide with fear, ears ringing and chest rising fast and hard.

“Hey... are... okay?” 

At first, he hadn’t able to really focus much less understand what she was saying. Slowly, as his breathing went back to normal and she kept repeating her question, he finally coaxed himself out of his flight response enough to see her.

His mouth had run dry instantly. His heart had stopped beating. His mind couldn’t process a single thing.

The most beautiful girl he had ever seen was standing in front of him, clutching her books to her chest as she looked at him with concern. Her chestnut-colored hair was pulled back into a bun high on her head but ringlets had escaped and framed her pale face in loose curls. The bluest eyes he had ever seen stared at him, reflecting his soul back to him in a way he’d never experienced. The cutest dust of freckles framed her eyes, caressing her cheeks and rising up to her forehead. Even the little dip of her nose had seemed to call at him, making his eyes travel down its bridge to the tip only to fall to the softest lips he had ever seen.

Everything seemed to stop as he stared at her. Time stood completely still and then, in what he felt was the first heartbeat of his life, everything rushed forward.

“Are you okay?” She repeated and his mind seems to finally click together and understand.

“Yeah... yeah, everything is fine.” He said with a sharp nod though he can’t help but look to the side of the building from where he had just escaped the angry mob of students who opposed sharing a building with him.

The girl must have followed his gaze for she leaned slightly to the side to catch a glimpse around the corner.

“Oh no.” She whispered before letting out the saddest sigh he had ever heard. He quickly turned to look at her only to find her arm extended and her hand offered to him. “Come with me.”

He’s not sure, even now, as to why he took her hand but he let her guide him through the back door of the school, down an almost deserted hallway and into a small, lonely classroom.

“I’m sorry you have been welcomed this way.” She tells him with a sad expression, her eyebrows knitting together. She truly seemed affected by the way he had been treated even though she hadn’t witnessed it.

“It’s alright.”

“It’s not,” she corrects him. “This town is far too conservative and terrified of change. They are as scared as you are except they know no other way to express it but to do it with anger.”

He remained silent, simply looking at her and wondering if she was some type of angel that had swooped in to make sure he didn’t die of fright. His heart had still beaten a mile a minute and he couldn’t quite catch it. He wasn’t sure if he even wanted to catch it. If he died right that moment he’d die happy simply because he was looking at her.

Once again she extended her arm and offered her hand. “I’m Carol.”

“Ezekiel.”

He thought she couldn’t get prettier but he’d been wrong, very wrong. The moment her lips pulled into a smile and her eyes shone with her inner light, he knew there was no going back. He was in love. Absolutely in love. 

“I swear, Ezekiel. We aren’t all like that.” She promised.

He hadn’t been sure he truly believed her but she had refused to let him hide, refused to let him attempt to disappear in the self-preservation he’d been taught to do all his life. He had somehow gone from a lonely kid trying to survive his integrated school to being Carol’s best friend. He’d gone from being Ezekiel to being Zeke, or Zekey if she was trying to get something from him that he had playfully refused to give.

They’d gone through all of junior high with her arm intertwined with his, their head held high as they walked the hallways from one classroom to the other, and laughs bursting from their lips during lunch. He’d learned her family had moved from another state, that they weren’t racist like the rest of the white people seemed to be, and that their home was as much his as his little house in the poorest side of town was.

Junior high turned to high school and his puppy crush turned into a full-fledged emotion he couldn’t truly understand. 

Carol was the prettiest girl in all of high school. She had grown from a slightly clumsy girl into a beautiful woman who could steal his breath away with a simple look. She was beautiful and smart and Ezekiel would do anything to be able to tell her how much he loved her.

He always held back though. He always kept his emotions as hidden as they possibly could. He hid it even when she turned to look at him from the corner of her eye and caught him looking at her only to turn and give him one of those smiles she seemed to save only for him, even when she teased him with one of her quick colorful comebacks and made him all twitterpated, even when she stared at him over the edge of her milkshake before giggling and shaking her head, her thoughts kept to herself.

He was her best friend so he told himself he’d never be anything more. Even if she loved him as he loved her, it could never happen because he was black and she was white and an interracial couple was frowned upon even more than a set of friends with different skin color.

But Carol was the most beautiful girl in school and everyone else was starting to notice. Particularly one Edward Peletier Jr, captain of the football team and heartthrob of every girl in their school.

He’d caught Ed staring at her more than once, a hungry look on his eyes that made Ezekiel’s skin crawl. A need to protect her had run through him every single time, though he knew Carol could stand up to herself when needed. Ezekiel had proceeded to stare him down every time and without fail Ed had given him a sleazy grin before turning back to Carol and licking his lips.

Carol had been completely oblivious to it every single time. She didn’t seem to notice Ed’s existence at all and focused all of her attention on whatever they were doing when it happened, but the fact that Ed had been showing his interest only made Ezekiel realize that eventually he would swoop in and he would lose her.

Just the thought of her leaving him had made him want to cry; it made his stomach feel as empty as it had ever been, his lungs seemed to tighten and prevent him from taking in a full breath and his head pounded painfully. Worst was the realization that he loved her so much and he wanted her to be happy. If Carol was to choose Ed as her boyfriend, Ezekiel would step aside to make sure she was happy.

Eventually, his worst fear had come true. One day he’d come to school a little later than usual, his bus had been late because of some kids deciding the bus wasn’t moving until the black people got off, to find him talking to her.

Frozen to his spot, Ezekiel had observed them. Ed was talking to her, laying down all the sweetness he could muster and Carol was blushing, looking down at the floor, her eyes focused on her feet. Ed had reached over to push back a curl that had escaped the bun she usually wore and Carol had quickly finished the job for him, catching her hair behind her ear. The bell had rung a second later and Ed had leaned down to press a kiss to her cheek before stepping away and going into the building. 

Carol had seemed to gather her bearings for a second or two before she had turned to look at the crowd entering the school, her eyes sweeping the mass of students who approached the building before her eyes caught him and a bright smile broke over her face.

“Hey, you!” She had called out as she reached his side, her arm instantly curled around his before tugging him towards the entrance. “You are late, mister.”

“Sorry.” He stuttered. “The bus-“

She stopped dead in her tracks. She turned to look at him which only made him stumble back as her arm kept him in place and he had kept walking. “It’s happened again?”

There was no use in hiding it from her. Carol was well aware there were still people who hated blacks, who also didn’t doubt to take the chance of instigating racism. “Yeah.” He finally answered. When he saw her shoulders fall he quickly added. “But nothing happened. It got fixed and I’m here.”

She gave him a tiny smile and a nod. “You better be.”

“Hey, I’ll always be here.” He had assured her. “Until you don’t want me around anymore.”

She had raised an eyebrow and tilted her chin up in that expression that told him she was about to say something that would make his face hot. His eyes centered on her lips, on the way they had pulled to one side in a little half-grin. It had taken everything in him to not lean down and steal a kiss from her lips. 

“That’s a long time because I want you by my side forever, Zekey.” She had declared.

Unable to stop himself, Ezekiel had to clear his throat as it went dry at her words. He wanted nothing more than for that to be true; for him to spend the rest of his life at her side, to hold her hand as only a boyfriend could, to pull her to his side and simply wrap his arms around her, to be able to kiss the top of her head, the tip of her nose, her lips, and eventually ask her to be his wife. He wanted to have forever with her and to build a family by her side.

“You won’t believe what just happened.” She continued, completely oblivious to the way his mind reacted to her words. “You know who Ed Peletier is?”

She waited for his nod before continuing. “He was acting all weird this morning. Telling me I was beautiful and asking if I had a boyfriend.”

“What did you say?” Ezekiel had asked.

“That I don’t.” She replied truthfully. “But that I’m not looking. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and said to never say never. He’s a total creep.” She had shuddered before she had continued to pull him into the school, completely oblivious to the way his heart had sunk in his stomach.

She didn’t want a boyfriend.

After that, Ed had always been around. He gave Carol looks that she noticed, always bumped into them in the hall, insisted to help with her books, he’d even invited her to football practice and had seemed extremely pissed off when he had tagged along.

Slowly, Carol had seemed to not be as disgusted by Ed. Ezekiel knew the guy was aware of it because whenever Carol wasn’t looking Ed would turn toward him and give him a disgusting grin. A grin that told him Ed thought he was winning and which had made his blood run cold.

Ed Peletier was not a good person, Ezekiel was sure of it. There was no way he was going to let Carol fall for whatever Ed planned. No way at all.

“Are you mad at me?” Carol’s sudden question during lunch had come as a complete surprise. It was one of those rare lunches where Ed didn’t push himself into their conversation, but all Ezekiel could do was think about the guy and let his thoughts simmer.

“What? No!”

“You’ve been quiet, too quiet.” She noted. 

He quickly turned to look at her only to notice the sadness in her eyes. “Sorry.”

“What’s wrong, Zeke?” Carol continued to press on. “You’ve been... I don’t know... so distant. Did I do something wrong?”

“No!” He answered quickly once more. “It’s just...”

He couldn’t tell her. He couldn’t tell her he was afraid of losing her, afraid that Ed would continue pulling her away from him. He couldn’t tell her about his fear of her falling for Ed, dating him, and leaving him in the dust. He couldn’t tell her how much he loved her because she wasn’t looking for a boyfriend and he was only supposed to be her best friend.

“Just what?”

“The midterm.” He lied.

“The math one?”

“Yeah,” he agreed with her quickly. “I don’t think I’m going to pass it this time, Care.”

“Yes, you are! You always say you aren’t and you push yourself until you are going over formulas in your sleep and then you breeze through it like it’s nothing.”

He wasn’t sure he’d be able to do what she described this time, not if his mind kept going back to Ed and to his inability to tell her what he felt. 

He had spent countless nights afterward debating what to do. 

He knew Ed was a bad person, he could feel it in his bones but he also knew Ed was interested in Carol and that he was a charmer through and through. He knew Carol wasn’t dumb and could take care of herself, but he knew Ed’s type and how they wrapped themselves into the life of their prey until they couldn’t see up from down. He had to do something, but what?

He couldn’t tell her what he felt. He couldn’t tell her how much he loved her for fear of losing her. What if he poured his heart out and she ended up rejecting him, reminding him that she wasn’t looking for a boyfriend? He knew she’d do it gently, remind him they were friends and nothing more. Or worse yet, what if she pitied him and became his girlfriend out of duty and not love then resented him until they lost their friendship?

He’d rather never tell her he loved her as more than friends and have her stay in his life.

Yes, that was what he’d do.

He’d been resolute on his decision until they had announced the Valentine's Day Dance and his mother, bless her heart, had started asking if he was thinking of going and how he was going to ask Carol out. At first, he had playfully rolled his eyes at his Ma and denied everything, but she knew him better than anyone and had reminded him so. She’d told him, after a very long talk where he had spilled his feelings for Carol, that he would spend his whole life regretting not inviting her and not telling her what he felt. Ezekiel had quickly told her he’d rather spend his life being her friend and having her in his life than losing her. 

Just as his mother had been about to leave to bed, for she had an early morning shift at the laundromat, she had kissed the top of his head and asked “What if Carol feels the same way and is waiting for you to say something? Have you thought of that, my sweet boy?”

He hadn’t. The thought of Carol possibly feeling what he felt for her was so foreign that it crashed into him and left his breathless. His brain instantly rejected it, reminding him of everything he had to lose so he pushed the thought away nervously. The seed of wonder had been planted though and from it had sprout hope.

After having gotten over the initial shock, he had been unable to stop talking about the possibility. What if she loved him and was waiting for him to say something?

Ezekiel suddenly needed to know; he had to find out if she felt the same way he did or if he was condemned to only be her friend for the rest of his life. He just had to know, so he’d gathered all his courage and started planning a way to ask her out to the dance.

That’s how he had ended here, the card tucked between the pages of his math book as he nervously approaches the school building. He’d made sure to clean up better than ever, to look as presentable as he could be for the moment he declares his love for her. He can’t help but tremble with nerves, his mind going in all sorts of directions as he attempts to focus.

Love is obviously in the air. Girls giggle together as they fawn over the presents their boyfriends had already delivered; pristine white teddy bears, blood-red roses, mylar balloons that float above their heads. Besides them, the guys stand proudly as they watch the happiness that run through the girls.

He trembles once more, his eyes sweeping over the crowd in an attempt to find her. 

The moment his eyes land on her, his mind finally goes blank, letting him focus on her and her alone. She is wearing a pretty pink dress and white shoes, her hair pulled back in her typical bun, a couple of curls already falling from it, and framing her face. This time she has a cute little white bow beneath her bun and a hint of gloss on her lips. She is beautiful.

“Zeke!” She calls out to him when she realizes he is there. She practically bounces over to him with a dazzling smile on her lips that he can’t help but mirror.

“Hey!” He greets her before opening his arms to her. Carol rushes right in and wraps her arms around his waist before giving it a tiny squeeze. “You look beautiful, Care.”

Carol pulls back, a blush tinting her cheeks with a tinge of pink. “Thank you.” She says almost shyly. He’s never seen her have that reaction so he hopes it’s a good one. “Thank you for the balloons.”

He’s been so focused on her that he hadn’t even noticed the three balloons that float above her. They are metallic, two white and one red, with one of them being an I, another shaped like a heart, and finally a U. His smile drops almost instantly.

“You didn’t have to get them for me.”

“I... I didn’t.” He admits. He suddenly clutches his math book closer, shielding the hidden card with the hope that it won’t suddenly appear in her hands. “I didn’t get them for you.”

“Oh...”. Carol seems to deflate as she realizes the balloons didn’t come from him. She frowns and looks up at them. “You didn’t?”

Ezekiel shakes his head, silently agreeing with her statement. “They are pretty, though. Whoever got them for you must really like you.”

Carol lets out a little sigh as she looks down from the balloons and locks eyes with him. “It doesn’t matter who got them.” She quickly says before raising her hand and offering him a grin. “I got you this. To sweeten your day.”

She presents to him a heart-shaped lolly. He instantly recognizes them as one of the ones her mother makes at her candy shop and grins. He carefully takes it while mumbling his thanks. He glances up at the balloons again before deciding his card is a stupid idea, despite all the time he spent at it. It certainly paled in comparison to her balloons and he doesn’t want her to judge it. “I... I didn’t get you anything.”

She rolls her eyes at him before wrapping her arm with his. “That’s fine. As long as you are here, that’s all I care about.” She pulls at his arm slightly, cuddling against it for a second before the bell rings and they have to move inside.

They part ways for the first period where he spends all morning egging himself to man up and give her the card. By the time the bell rings and he’s crossed the building from his classroom to hers, Ed has already found her. Ezekiel holds back as Ed presents a bouquet of red roses decorated with baby’s breath. Carol takes them with a smile. She seems to awkwardly shift from one foot to the other before Ed proceeds to lean down to kiss her cheek.

That’s all he needs to see. He bypasses reaching her side and goes straight to second period, then third. When the bell for lunch rings in his ear, he drags himself from his place and starts making his way to where he has chosen to hide.

“There you are!” Carol’s cheery voice makes him stop dead in his tracks. She’s waiting outside of the classroom. The balloons and roses are nowhere to be found, which he’s thankful for, but he avoids looking into her eyes for fear that she will somehow read his thoughts and figure everything out. He’d been so stupid to think that a home-made card would be good enough to give to her. Thankfully he hasn’t pulled it out and to embarrass himself in front of her.

“Come on! Let’s go grab lunch and go to our spot.” She grabs his hand and starts pulling him in the direction of the cafeteria. So much for his plan to hide.

He remains quiet, following her lead, grabbing his tray and choosing his food then following a step behind. When they reach the little bench under the willow tree, where they usually sit down to have their lunch, she plops down on her spot and turns to look at him with a grin. 

“Have you eaten your candy?” She asks with a raised eyebrow.

“No,” Ezekiel mumbles. “Not yet.”

“You should.”

He looks up at her to find Carol staring at him with a beautiful smile on her lips. “Not before lunch.” He quips, unable to stop himself from repeating the words her father had said so many times throughout all those years.

Her parents were an odd couple, but a kind one. While her mother loved to make sweets to sell in her little shop, her father spends all day at his office cleaning teeth and fixing the unfixable dental problems. Her mom always teases that it is a family business where she sells candies to create a clientele that will eventually reach her father and boost his medical cases. Ezekiel has always chuckled at it but it made him realize how different they were and how well they complemented each other.

He can’t help but look at Carol and himself and wonder if they’d ever work the way her parents seem to do. He shakes his head a little to clear his thoughts 

“Fine, dad,” Carol replies with a playful roll of the eyes.

No sooner have they dug into their food that the clearing of a throat interrupts them, making them turn towards the sound. “Carol Anne?”

He knows the voice belongs to Edward right away. Unable to stop himself, he quickly corrects him. “It’s Carol, just Carol. She hates being called Anne.”

Ed stares at him with daggers in his eyes, a stare Carol doesn’t seem to see because she too has turned to look at him. Ezekiel can’t help but notice that her expression is vastly different. Her smile is all he needs to see to know he was right to correct him.

“Anyway,” Ed brushes him away. “I have something for you.” 

Ezekiel watches helplessly as Ed brings out a jewelry box. It’s a small square that looks like it could be holding a ring. His heart almost stops on him until Ed opens the box and shows Carol a delicate necklace with a small cross hanging from it.

“Ed.” Carol’s voice sounds surprised and a tad uncomfortable. She looks between Ed and the box, then at Ezekiel who feels like he’s gone completely mute. “What... what is this?”

“Just a small token for the prettiest girl in all of the town,” explains as he pulls the necklace free and offers to put it on her. Carol awkwardly continues to look between him and the dangling cross. “I wanted to show you how much you mean to me and to ask you to the Valentine dance. We could go as a couple.”

“I... I...”. She stutters.

“You could wear an expensive dress, I’d pick you up in a limousine, with the rest of my friends of course. We can dance all night or go find a corner where we can... you know... talk.”

Carol’s eyes fixate on the cross once more than gives a soft shake of her head. “I’m sorry Ed. I can’t.”

“Has someone else invited you? I’m sure they wouldn’t mind stepping aside so you could go with the captain of the football team.” 

Carol shakes her head against. “It’s not that. I just... I don’t think I want to go.” She finally declares.

Ed narrows his eyes and takes a step closer to her which makes Carol shrink back. Ezekiel quickly stands on the other side of the table and leans against it, making it quite obvious that Ed approaching any closer is not appreciated. 

“Carol Anne,” Ed says in a warning tone

“You heard her,” Ezekiel quickly interjects. “She doesn’t want to go.”

He knows he’s risking a beating by talking to Ed this way. He knows that he’s going to have to watch his back for a while, in case he gets the whole football team to gang upon him. He doesn’t care though, not if it means that Carol is left alone.

Ed’s nose flares in anger and he points at Ezekiel. “This isn’t over.” He grunts between a clenched jaw before angrily turning away, throwing the cross to the ground, and walking away in a huff.

Ezekiel watches him leave until he’s at a far enough distance that coming back doesn’t seem likely. As soon as he’s at a safe distance, he drops to sit on the seat of the bench and worriedly looks over Carol who has a weird expression on her face.

“Are you alright?” He asks her.

“I’m fine.” She promises. Her eyes don’t turn to him, instead, she continues to watch the retreating form. “Who does he think he is? First the balloons, then the flowers and now the jewelry? And why does he think that I’d even want to go with him?”

Ezekiel chuckles at the fiery response that seems to have been triggered. He quickly realizes that she will be fine and that more than scared she is simply put off.

“He is the captain of the football team.” He notes. “He’s used to saying what he wants and having pretty girls do what he says.”

Ezekiel gives a shrug before reaching for a slice of his apple. He freezes a second later having realized that he just admitted he found her pretty. Had she noticed what he’d said? He waits, quietly munching on his fruit in an attempt to look as natural as possible. It doesn’t take long before he hears her give a little sound of disgust before she reaches for a slice as well. She hadn’t noticed.

“Well, he’s not going to get that from me. I’m not going to that dance and that’s that.”

Remembering the card still tucked in his math book, Ezekiel gives a tiny nod and tries as best as he can to not let his emotions shine through. The last thing he needs is for her to notice it and end up agreeing to go to the dance out of pity. He’ll get rid of it after lunch. Carol will never have to know that he had intended to invite her to the dance or to ask her to be his girlfriend. They’ll continue being best friends and no one will know any better as to what he feels.

He reaches for another piece of apple and is about to pop it into his mouth when Carol asks in that teasing tone of hers. “So... you think I’m pretty huh?”

Damn, she had heard him.

Ezekiel turns to look at her. He feels his face flaming and swears there’s perspiration on his forehead and hands. “What?” He stammers.

“You said Ed was used to pretty girls doing things he wanted. So... you must think I’m pretty if Ed thought I’d do as he wished.” He watches as her eyebrow raises and her lips curl upwards. He knows she’s about to burst into giggles at any moment and that she’s struggling to keep her teasing going. 

“Yeah, Care, you are pretty.” He finally whispers, praying she won’t notice the way his voice lowers. 

“And gorgeous?” She continues.

He grins at her, masking his real thoughts with the teasing she’s caught him in. If she thinks he’s just playfully saying it maybe he’ll be able to survive lunch without spilling his biggest secret; how much he loves her and how beautiful he thinks she is

“Eat your apple, Carol Anne.” He replies as he pushes the little container with her sliced apple towards her.

Carol narrows her eyes and scrunches her nose. “Oh hush.” 

They spend the rest of their lunch comfortably chatting and by the time the bell rings, Ed is a forgotten topic. After making sure she’s arrived safely at her biology class, Ezekiel goes on his way to his art class which is followed by English literature and finally Math, where he and Carol spend the last hour of the day filling questions and solving math equations on their test.

Carol, as always, is the first one to be done. She’s always been really good at math and will breeze through the algebra equations as if she is doing simple math. Ezekiel finishes fifth but since neither can go anywhere, they spend the rest of the period making faces at each other then pretending to be model students when the teacher turns to look at them. Carol’s giggles almost give them away more than once until finally the bell rings and everyone piles out of the room.

“How did you do?” She asks him as they start their way out of the school. Ezekiel always walks her to her home before taking the bus to his side of town. He doesn’t mind it, especially because he knows that not everyone is kind and someone could easily decide to bother a young woman walking home by herself. 

“I think I did okay.” He replies. “Probably not an A but definitively didn’t fail.”

“You are getting an A, I just know it.” Carol declares with a laugh. “You’ve been studying really hard and you always sell yourself short. I bet you do just as good as I did.”

“Suuure.” He extends his sound to let her know he’s being sarcastic. “Miss know-it-all.”

“That’s Miss Pretty-Know-it-all.”

Of course, she’d bring that up again. He shakes his head at her and chuckles which prompts Carol to bump her shoulder to his playfully. 

“Hey! Did you eat your lollipop?” She asks out of the blue as they cut through the park near the school.

“Not yet. Why?” It’s not the first time she’s given him candy after all her mother is a candy maker, but it is the first time she seems interested in whether or not he’s actually consumed it. He can’t help but wonder why.

She gives him a sideways glance before shrugging nonchalantly or at least pretending to be nonchalant. He can see a soft blush on her freckled cheeks and the way she looks at him from the corner of her eye. She’s up to something, he knows it.

“Why?” Ezekiel repeats.

Carol is about to answer when they are rudely interrupted by one of the jocks barreling through between them. “Hey!” She cries out just as the guy turns and pushes Ezekiel out of the way and unto the grass, his books spilling everywhere.

Just as quickly as he came, the guy is gone. Instead of quickly getting up, Ezekiel decides to stay on the grass for a little longer, simply looking up at the sky, his books stern everywhere around him. 

“Are you okay?” This time it’s Carol who asks him, her face coming into his line of sight and hovering above him. “Are you hurt?”

“Nah.” He replies, giving her sideways smirk but not getting up either. “He didn’t even bruise my ego. I’ve been wanting to just lay down and look at the sky so he made me a favor.”

Carol chuckles and shakes her head before joining him on the grass and sitting beside him. He feels her eyes on him but he doesn’t turn to look at her. 

“You’ve been acting weird all day. What gives?” She asks as she puts her books to the side and starts picking up his. He can hear her piling up the books one over the other before he finally turns to look at her. He doesn’t speak, not at first, and simply takes a moment to observe her and to think.

“I was going to do something today but then decided not to.” He finally admits to her. 

That instantly sparks her curiosity, halting her piling of the books midway through. “What were you going to do?”

“Doesn’t matter.” He replies introspectively. 

Truthfully, it did matter but he didn’t want to tell her that. He wasn’t going to risk hurting their friendship in any way, even if it meant keeping his feelings for her a secret forever. They’d grown up together and what they had was special, so special. He loved the fact that they understood each other, prompt each other up, could joke and tease and simply be their true self. He loves that they worried for the other, protected each other, or could just unwind and lay on the grass if they desired, just because. He wasn’t willing to risk any of that.

Plus, he knows Carol deserves so much more than he could ever give. She deserves the balloons and the roses and the jewelry. She deserves to be courted and loved by someone good who could make her happy and give her a future. He knows that could be him, in the long run, but Carol deserves things now and there is nothing he can offer her other than handmade Valentine cards declaring his love and asking her to the dance. 

“Of course it matters.” She insists. “If it’s something important then it matters. It matters to me.”

She pushes the books away to make space for herself then lays on her belly beside him. They probably look a sight but he doesn’t really care what others think.

“You’ll get your dress dirty.” 

“Don’t change the subject.” She says with a pointed look towards him. “Tell me, please?”

“No.”

“Zeke...”

“I already told you it doesn’t matter.”

“And I already told you it does.” Carol refutes, her blue eyes shining with the sunlight as her lip turns into a pout that she knows he can’t resist. “Tell me, Zekey, please.”

He’s going to regret this. He knows it. Yet, the words are at the tip of his tongue before he can stop them and they spill out his lips even as he attempts to suffocate them. “I spent all night making a Valentine’s card, making sure it was perfect. I even made sure my handwriting was above a chicken scratch.”

“Shut up, you have beautiful handwriting,” Carol interjects. Her initial bravado seems to dwindle down quickly as she starts plucking tiny blades of grass in front of her, her eyes looking everywhere but at him. “Why did you make the valentine?”

“I wanted to ask a girl to the dance and... I wanted to tell her how much I felt for her.”

Something flashes in Carol’s eyes as she pauses the plucking and takes in a deep breath that she seems to hold for a second longer than usual before she lets it out in a rush. “Why didn’t you deliver your valentine?”

Unable to look at her while he spoke the next bit, Ezekiel looks up at the sky once again. “Because... because she deserves so much more. She got so much more today. A homemade card pales in comparison to what she got.”

“How do you know?” Her question confuses him and makes him turn his head to the side so he can look at her.

“What do you mean, Care?”

Carol turns to look at him with a raised eyebrow, a challenging expression on her face. “How do you know if she liked what she got? How do you know that a homemade valentine isn’t exactly what she wanted?”

“Who’d chose a card over balloons and flowers? Over expensive gifts?” He questions. “No one, Care. Plus... she deserves someone so much better. I guess I was acting weird today because I was realizing that.”

“Ezekiel, listen to me and listen carefully,” she starts in a tone that leaves him no room to contradict her. “You are a wonderful young man; you are caring and compassionate, you are loving and passionate, you have values and you face the world with a smile in a way that no one can, especially with the way others behave. You protect those you love and you love so openly. Any girl would be lucky enough to have you. The gifts; the balloons, the flowers, and the other things, those don’t matter if they don’t come from the right person.”

He hums in reply and closes his eyes. If only Carol knew it was her that he was speaking about. Would her words change? Would she still believe that a card could trump all the expensive tokens the world had to give? Would she still believe that he was enough for her?

“Who is she?” Carol’s voice is no louder than the sound of a hummingbird’s wings in flight. Is he imagining it, or is there a hint of sadness and longing in it? No, of course not, it couldn’t be. 

“Why do you want to know?”

“Because I want to tell her how lucky she is.” She answers. 

He turns his body so that he too is laying on his belly, shoulder to shoulder with Carol who has restarted her grass cutting exercises. He gives her no answer simply because he doesn’t dare. He’s said enough already as it is. Deciding to change the topic, his eyes quickly sweep through their things to find something else to talk about. Surprisingly, it is something lacking that actually catches his attention. “Hey, where did your balloons and flowers go?”

Carol gives a smirk and purses her lips. “I gave them to Mrs. Snider.” She declares proudly.

Mrs. Snider is the oldest faculty member their high school has. Ezekiel is sure she’s well into her eighties though he’s also aware that if she were she’d already have retired. Either way, she is an older woman who has two loves in her life; History, the subject she passionately teaches, and her late husband Andrew. She is old but she is caring and honestly worries about the mind of her students, though if prompted properly she will switch from passionately talking about World War I to talking about the olden days and how her husband had wooed her.

“O-okay?” He asks in a confused tone.

“She just seemed so sad when I got there. She was staring out the window, muttering to herself about her husband and when class started we got her to reminisce about her and her husband's last valentine and I just... I just gave them to her, told her they were from her husband, and.. it made her smile.”

“But... why?”

“Because balloons and flowers don’t matter if they don’t come from the right person.” 

Carol falls quiet after that, switching from plucking blades of grass to neatly arranging his tower of books. She’s about to finish twisting the books so that they are perfectly aligned when something seemingly catches her eye. “What is this?” She asks softly as she starts pulling out something from between the pages of his math book.

His math book.

The one that has the Valentine card he made for her.

She is pulling out that very card in front of his eyes and he seems to be frozen to the spot, unable to reach over to stop her. 

She opens it before he has managed to find a way to speak. The heart he’d so carefully folded so that it would pop up the moment she opened the card seems to mock him by working perfectly. He recognizes his own handwriting right away and knows she will do so as well.

“What..?” 

His heart beats wildly in his chest, thundering through his ribs and against the grass he’s laying on. His hands grow sweaty and he finds himself suddenly ready to snatch the card the moment she shows pity or disgust. His eyes naturally land on her lips as she reads the card under her breath then up to her eyes which twitch as they move from one side to the other of the card as she reads.

When she’s done, she closes the card with a trembling hand then quickly twists her body so that she can sit instead of laying down. She faces him, sitting cross-legged, the card gently placed on her legs. 

It’s time to face her. She’d read the card, she knows what he feels, and now he has to look at her in the eye while she slowly lets him down. 

Accepting his faith, Ezekiel moves into a sitting position in front of her. “Go on.” He urges her. “Say what you have to say.”

Carol’s forehead scrunches as she tries to find the words to use, he knows it because he knows every single one of her expressions. He waits her out patiently, hoping to stretch the last moments of their friendship as much as he can before she sends him packing. 

“You... you made me a Valentine’s Day card?” She finally asks.

He nods but answers verbally as well. “I did.”

“But you decided not to give it to me.” This time her words aren’t a question. Surprisingly they also aren’t accusing.

“Yes.”

Carol continues stating what she knows to be true. “Because you thought I wouldn’t like it since I got balloons and flowers and a necklace, which I refused by the way.”

This time he only nods, his head tilting downward in shame. 

“And... you feel something for me?”

Again he nods, his head remaining tilted downward though he tries to sneak a look to judge just how mad she was. She doesn’t look mad at all, she looks confused as hell but not exactly mad. 

“Something you’ve felt for a while but can’t explain.”

“I’ve tried.” He accepts. “Many times.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Her question comes out in a soft whisper, something he almost misses over the roaring of his blood in his ears. 

“Because you deserve so much more than what I can give you; you deserve to be happy, to have everything you’ve ever desired, to never have to worry about a single thing.” He pauses and takes a deep breath before he finally tilts his head up to look at her straight in the eye. “And because I’d rather have you as my friend than risk losing you forever.”

Her eyebrows practically knit together as she stares at him. He can see the blue of her irises somewhat become dimmer and the corners of her eyes filling with tears. Her chin wobbles just a tiny bit but enough for him to notice.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not fair.” She says over his words. “That you hid this from me; the card and your feelings and then decide that I won’t like certain things over others and that I’m better off just having you as a friend. It’s not fair.”

She raises a hand to brush away the tear that has broken the surface tension in her eye. Carol gives a little sniffle then rubs the end of her nose. “If you’d told me, any of it, I would have told you how wrong you are.”

Wait... what?

“You want to know why I kept asking you about the lollipop?” She waits for him to nod before urging him to open it. “Unwrap it and see.”

He reaches for the notebook where he had tucked the lollipop, digging it out of the little flap designed for him to hold his loose paper in. Carefully, Ezekiel unwraps the heart-shaped lollipop, pulling it apart from the cellophane and the wrinkly paper that protected the candy from getting dirty. He stares at the smooth candy confused before turning to look at Carol.

Carol rolls her eyes and reaches for the candy only to turn it to the other side for him to see. “I made it with my mother’s candy molds.” She explains. 

While one side of the lollipop is as smooth as can be, the other has raised words formed in the hardened candy. He tilts it slightly so that the sun will catch the letters just enough so that he can read them.

‘I’ll always love you’.

“What does it say?” Carol urges him to read the words but his mouth has gone dry and his mind is as confused as Carol had been when she’d found the card. 

“You aren’t the only one who feels something Ezekiel. Who has felt something all these years. I was waiting, hoping you’d say something, but you never did. I... I finally got the courage to tell you so I made this for you. It’s not expensive or grand but it’s me and my way to tell you what I felt. I thought you’d like it.”

“I do!” He quickly promises. 

“Then why wouldn’t I like the card?” She asks. “Why wouldn’t I want to be your girl and go to the dance with you?”

“Because... you said...”

“That I wasn’t looking for anyone and I didn’t want to go to the dance,” she finishes for him. “But you misunderstood. I’m not looking for anyone because I’ve found you already, I want you, I love you. I didn’t want to go to the dance with Ed because I wanted to go with you. The balloons and flowers... they were nice but they weren’t beautiful or perfect because they didn’t come from you.”

He watches as she tenderly brings the card up to her chest and presses it against her skin. “This card... this card is perfect. Not because it’s perfectly designed or because it pops out just right. It’s perfect because it comes from you.”

The conversation has not gone like he’d envision, not at all. He’d been sure that by now he’d be watching her walk away, angry that he’d ever thought she could want more with him. Instead, Carol is staring at him with a teary gaze, expecting him to say something they will both like, something that will take them from being friends to much more. His Ma had been right; Carol had been waiting for him to say something, to take the initiative.

He can’t let them both down.

Shakingly, Ezekiel rewraps his candy and puts it aside before he reaches for Carol’s hand. She instantly holds on to him tightly, her chest rising and falling quickly as she lowers the card to her lap. Her heartbeat must be going as fast as he’s is. Carol must be feeling the same trepidation that he does, a feeling that almost makes him choke around the words he needs to say. 

“Carol?”

“Yes?”

“I... I love you.” He admits in a rush of breath. A weight he hadn’t known he’d been carrying seems to lift from his shoulders as soon as he says the words. His lips pull into a grin which she emulates. “I love you.”

“And I love you.” She repeats the words to him with a little giggle, her hand still holding tightly to his. “I have for a long time.”

He doesn’t think he can grin any bigger, he doesn’t think he’d ever feel as happy as he does at that very moment, and yet he knows that this is just the start of something that will result in him being the happiest he’s ever been for the rest of his life.

Realizing he still has to ask, Ezekiel clears his throat and brings her hand up so that he can kiss the back of her hand. “Carol? Would you do me the honor of attending the Valentine’s Day dance with me.”

A glint of light appears in Carol’s eyes and he knows he’s in for it. “I can’t.” She replies though she quickly adds. “I can’t just go out with anyone. What would my daddy think?” She teases. “But maybe... maybe he wouldn’t mind if I went out with my best friend and... boyfriend.”

He chuckles and shakes his head while she gives him a teasing grin. He’s not one to deny her or to want to make her daddy anxious, so he does the only thing he can think of. “Carol, would you like to be my girl?”

Carol narrows her eyes playfully at him. “You mean, go steady? Me and you, Zekey? Cause you think I’m pretty?”

“Care!” He pretends to be exasperated before letting go of her hand and using his fingers to tickle her sides mercilessly. 

Carol’s laughter washes over him, her pale skin glowing pink with the exertion that laughing and attempting to move away from him has brought. They end up breathless, laying side by side facing the sky. 

“What do you say, Carol?” He asks, needing to hear her answer more than anything he’s ever needed.

Carol turns her head to look at him. Her lips are pulled into a soft smile even as she rolls towards him until she’s hovering above her, her hair falling from the bun and dangling over him. Tenderly, he pushes one of the strands and gently hooks it behind her ear. Carol instantly leans against his hand, seeking his touch and sighing happily when he caresses her cheek.

“I’d love to be your girl.” She finally whispers before slowly leaning down and brushing her lips against his in a sweet kiss. It’s just a press of their lips together, a soft caress, and yet it steals Ezekiel’s breath completely and leaves him aching for more. He knows he’ll be completely obsessed with her lips for the rest of his life, that her taste will be something he will crave forever, but he doesn’t mind. He doesn’t mind it at all.

When she pulls back, Carol licks her lips and smiles down at him lovingly. He could spend the rest of his life staring up at her, tracing her freckled face with his eyes and fingers, but before he can do so Carol pulls away and starts reaching for their discarded books and notebooks. He watches as she carefully picks up her card, brings it to her chest, then slips it into her own math book.

“Come on, we have to get home.” Carol urges him.

Ezekiel once again chuckles, his face already hurting with how much he’s smiling. “Yes, ma’am!” He declares before sitting and reaching for his books.

Once they are both standing, books held with one arm, and their other hands clasped together, Ezekiel starts leading Carol down the path they are known to take on their way to her home. He can’t help but beam as she leans against him, pressing herself to his side. 

“I can’t wait for you to talk with daddy about us going steady.” She admits to him. “You’ve made me so happy, Zeke. You have no idea how much.”

“Probably as happy as you’ve made me.” 

He can’t wait to talk to her father either. In fact, he’ll talk to both of her parents to make sure that they know he’s not playing with their daughter’s future. He loves Carol and wants to give her all he’ll be able to afford now and in the future because he knows that his and Carol’s love will be one for the books, a love so pure and perfect that it will build a whole kingdom.

He cannot wait to start the rest of their lives at her side.

The end.

**Author's Note:**

> Just wanted a sweet carzekiel story for once! Hope you guys liked it!


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